GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A home health aide who allegedly tied a 71-year-old woman with dementia to a chair in New Jersey last year has lost her certification, officials said Tuesday.
The state’s Board of Nursing permanently revoked 51-year-old Afua Dankwah’s certification after the Morrisville, Pennsylvania resident was charged with endangering another person and abandonment/neglect of an elderly, disabled adult, New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General said in a press release.
A nurse at the Juniper Village/Well Springs Assisted Living Facility in Monroe Township was checking in on the 71-year-old woman last fall when she discovered her tied to a chair at her waist with a nightgown, the release said.
Dankwah, who was caring for the woman at the time, was inside the woman’s bathroom when the nurse conducted the check, according to the release.
When the nurse confronted Dankwah, she admitted she tied the woman to the chair to keep her from moving around while she was in the bathroom, the release said.
“Abuse and neglect of seniors and individuals with disabilities will not be tolerated,” Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck said in a statement. “This action demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting vulnerable New Jerseyans from harm at the hands of those entrusted with their care.”
Dankwah’s attorney information wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.